The Power of Your Story

by Jelena

Everybody has a story, and you are the best person to create the narrative for your own one. By the end of this blog post, I hope I’ll convince you to take it seriously and work on it.

There are so many great people in the world doing some truly amazing things but we don’t always hear about them. Only a handful of these amazing people manage to capture the attention of the public long enough, and then of us, to get us hooked. These people are the ones with a powerful story. The story that engages us at the core. The one that we want to hear again and again.

Their stories inspire us, motivate us and push us to do something different with our lives; something so brave that will make us become heroes of our own plotline.

These kinds of stories shape our reality, don’t you think? Without stories, this world would be full of disengaging facts. Plain and dull.

Stories are our primary tools of learning and teaching, the repositories of our lore and legends. They bring order into our confusing world. Think about how many times a day you use stories to pass along data, insights, memories or common-sense advice.

Edward Miller

Why telling your story is so important?

There are many reasons why telling your own story should be on TOP of your list. I know you may doubt yourself and your importance in the world from time to time.  But when you know who you are and what you want in life, you already have a very good outline for your unique story.

Here is one example:

Say you were born prematurely. There is already a piece of a great story right there. Your parents must have been worried sick for you and your health. Maybe you were the smallest and slowest in your class and you had to work twice as hard to achieve something that others were doing easily. Maybe you were so insecure and fearful that you didn’t dare do much until that one moment when you got inspired… and that changed your life for good.

You’ll notice that in these kinds of stories, there is one constant: our hero, aka YOU, is faced in the beginning with a seemingly insurmountable problem. No matter how big the challenge seems, our hero works hard, fights back and pushes through so that in one moment, his once insurmountable problem is only a story worth telling.

That story is a story of the rite of passage from a regular John Doe to a Hero everyone will remember. And there is no better story than that.

 

What constitutes a great story?

For a story to be great (not just good), it needs to have a plot. Its hero needs to face adversity (not just one, but many), solve a problem and grow from it.  That’s why everyone’s story is so important and unique.

We all face challenges on our path. By sharing your story with others, you get to share your own experience and help someone who might be facing the same challenge. And in helping others, you also get to appreciate yourself more, too.

However, before you move forward to awe the world with your mighty storytelling, make sure you truly believe that your personal story is important. Once you have that clear within you, sharing your story should be easy because it will come from a good place – your heart. And when you do things from heart, people listen and they connect with you on a more personal level.

I’ve found this simple formula works best in creating a story worth telling. Many great storytellers are using it too.

Seven steps to creating a great story:

  1. Once upon a time, there was ___.
  2. Every day, ___.
  3. One day ___.
  4. Because of that, ___.
  5. Because of that, ___.
  6. Until finally ___.
  7. And ever since that day____.

When you start your story like this, you are creating a virtual journey for others to follow; to relate to; to contribute, and lastly, to live your story as if it was their own.

 

Do you think story-sharing is important? What is your story? Would you mind sharing it with me? I’d love to get to know you better.  

Also, make sure you sign up for my newsletter so I can send you some of the books I’ve read on storytelling. It could be helpful to you too.

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8 comments

Elizabeta December 28, 2018 - 9:25 am

Hi Jelena,

It sounds so easy when you write about it…yet….there are a lot of inner obstacles to overcome…..like: where would I start, who will be interested, maybe people will get bored, in which language should I write, will I hurt somebodies feelings by telling my story (as they have been part of it) and many many other thoughts are coming to my mind which keep me from telling „my“ story….
On the other hand I can relate to what you write as many times I had the thought how nice it would be to stop people on the road, atan airport, in a coffee shop and simply ask them about their story….

I will keep coming back to this part of your blog and maybe I will somewhere down the line find my starting point….

Please do share the the titles of the books about storytelling:)

Wishing you a wonderful 2019.

Elizabeta

Reply
Jelena January 3, 2019 - 6:22 pm

Hey Elizabeta,

I can see you have self-doubts. It will come to you with time how important and special you are. You cannot hurt anyone if your story comes from a good place within you. Once you find your peace and love for yourself, your story will be extraordinary and people will recognize the light and love within.

Keep growing and keep working on yourself!
Much love,
Jelena

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Milica Ikac January 4, 2019 - 6:49 am

Love this, it’s very encouraging. I started being curious about life and everything in it at a very young age. As a 7 years old, I always wanted to know why things are the way they are. I was always so curious about life, our existence, the sun, the moon… everything! I was never surrounded by people who asked the same questions, so I kept exploring life through books and kept my learnings and experiences to myself.

I was always very self aware, even as I child. And the same way I wanted to explore the world around me, something was driving me to explore the world within me. So I started writing about my own life, feelings, awareness, good/bad decisions and choices and how it all shaped me to be the person that I am today…but I never thought about sharing it with the world. I can’t say I wasn’t brave enough to do it, It’s more that I feel like people wouldn’t find it interesting. I absolutely love reading life stories and experiences of others all around the world. So perhaps I was wrong for not sharing mine. Reading through your website today has definitely encouraged me to share in the future, thank you.
I love your website and your stories. A part of me feels like I can really relate. Can’t wait to read more…

xx

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Jelena January 5, 2019 - 6:54 pm

I quite enjoyed reading about who you are. Love your curiosity and simplicity! The journey of writing your own story is based on your love and appreciation of yourself. It is a truly wonderful journey! Much love, ❤

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Sonja January 16, 2019 - 7:17 pm

Draga Jelena,
Izuzetno mi je drago što imam mogućnost da ti se obratim.
Ja sam studentkinja, koja je tek počela da se pronalazi i gradi sebe. To nije lak put, ali sam presrećna što pored svih onih stvari male vrednosti koima smo okruženi sa svih strana, postoje ljudi kao što si ti, koji daju pravi primer svim mladima, pokazuju i podržavaju prave vrednosti, pored kojih možemo toliko da naučimo i odaberemo dobar pravac na putu pronalaženja, učenja, razvoja ličnosti i sl.
Želim da ti kažem samo koliko mi na tom putu značiš, tvoje poruke, pozitivna energija, i energija uopšte kojom zračiš, i mislim da treba da budeš ponosna ne taj uticaj koji imaš na, pre svega, mlade ljude širom sveta.
Ogroman pozdrav!

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Aswani Kurra January 18, 2019 - 9:30 pm

Dear Jelena, this post felt so personal and made me emotional. I enjoy your writing so much because I feel like you and I have similar interests and I relate to them. I love writing, story telling and my goal is to be an author. But when it comes to my own story, I falter so bad. It’s the eternal question of “is my story worthy enough to be told”. I do see your point that every one’s story is unique and deserves to be told but I am also conflicted about this. I don’t think that my story has a gripping plot or many obstacles for others to find it interesting. This post resonated so much with me and convinced me a little to go tell my own story. I am going to give serious thought and find some interesting things about my life that I think deserve to be told. Hopefully one day. Thank you so much for this!!

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Sylvie April 7, 2020 - 3:33 pm

Hi Jelena.
Five years ago I took a course of Storytelling for Organisations and every lecture was full of inspiration and reflection because my teacher Brenda Lee told stories in a very enjoyable way. Today when I read your website, I agree with values you shared especially the description as “the apprentice of life”. When you encourage people to write own unique stories, I feel like something in my memories has been awaken. I really enjoy your website and I am keen to explore more. Also, I am keen on knowing more about your project of original magazine, a platform for like-minded people.

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Aya April 23, 2023 - 8:33 pm

Hello Elena, I read your last post about finding meaning, and it was like a sign for me, even the picture you put with a compas, has been in my words last days, and the author you read, Michael, i read him too. I am from Bulgaria, and i know him because he is from Bulgaria, he was sent to France by his teacher Beinsa Duno. I am very glad to find this post too, i like to write personal thoughts and ideas, but did not thought about the meaning of a story, and you give me a big push in my way. Thank you, can you please send me the list of the books you read on that topic. Thank you again, for doing beautiful things.

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